DIII Roundup: No. 1 Wisconsin-Whitewater throttles Waldorf

Whitewater, Wis --The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater football team began its national championship defense Friday night with a resounding, season-opening 73-7 victory against Waldorf (Iowa) in a non-conference contest at Perkins Stadium.

The Warhawks (1-0) tallied 49 points in the first half, including 28 in the first quarter, en route to their 18th consecutive win. It was the most points scored by a UW-Whitewater team in the first half in more than 10 years. The team piled up 45 first-half points at Buffalo State (New York) in a game last season.

Senior quarterback Matt Behrendt orchestrated two scoring drives in the first five-plus minutes of action. The Warhawks received the opening kickoff and, following a 56-yard return by senior Marcus McLin, marched 44 yards in five plays as Behrendt connected with junior wide receiver Joe Worth for an 11-yard score.

UW-Whitewater's 73 points are its most since tallying 75 against Lakealnd in 2006. The team's 10 touchdowns tie a school record last accomplished in 2010.

STORM LAKE, Iowa -- Senior Jacob Zilbar and the defense set the tone early for the eight-ranked University of Wisconsin-Platteville football team, as the Pioneers throttled Buena Vista 63-3, on Saturday at Storm Lake, Iowa.

Zilbar recovered a fumble forced by fellow senior Evan Constant on the second offensive play of the game. The Pioneer offense came up empty with the great field position, but Zilbar found the ball again with an interception, putting the offense on BV's 38-yard line. Senior Andy Puccini and his offensive line weren't going to let another great opportunity slip away, as Puccini scampered into the end zone from 30 yards out.

Two possessions later, senior quarterback Bryce Corrigan and his wide receivers found their rhythm with an eight-play 65-yard scoring drive. Corrigan connected with Mitch Munda for a 11-yard touchdown pass, giving the Pioneers 14-0 lead.

UW-Platteville's defense didn't allow the Beavers to cross midfield in the first quarter, which set up the offense for another scoring drive. Puccini found the end zone for the second time on a nine-yard run, giving the Pioneers a commanding 21-0 lead.

To close out the first half, Corrigan found senior Russell Martin for a 63-yard touchdown pass to give the Pioneers a 35-3 lead into the half.

In UW-Platteville's second possession of the third quarter, Corrigan and Martin again, this time from nine yards out, pushsing the Pioneers up 42-3

The Pioneers final score came off a bad snap by BV, and freshman Dalton McManus scooped up the loose ball for a 10-yard touchdown, 63-3.

No. 9 St. John Fisher downs Otterbein

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Ninth-ranked St. John Fisher College scored the game's final 22 points to earn a 36-14 win against visiting Otterbein University in the season opener for both teams.

Fisher quarterback Tyler Fenti completed 22-of-33 passes for 296 yards and four touchdowns. Senior wideout Nathan Nigolian scored two touchdowns on the day and finished with eight catches for 148 yards.

For Otterbein, Reid Hutchinson rushed for 148 yards on just nine carries.

After forcing Otterbein to go three-and-out in the game's opening drive, Fisher marched 54 yards on just three plays with Robert Campese scoring his first career touchdown on a 21-yard pass from Fenti less than two minutes into the contest.

Otterbein responded with a 14-play, 73-yard drive, capped by a two-yard run from Drew Ervin to tie the game.

The visiting Cardinals nearly took the lead early in the second quarter as Brandon Fuentes made a diving tackle at the Fisher 4-yard line, following a 58-yard run from Hutchinson. Three plays later, senior All-American Sean Preish forced quarterback Brick Davis to fumble at the Fisher 20, ending the scoring threat.

No. 10 John Carrol blanks St. Vincent College

First game jitters were not a factor for the No. 10 John Carroll University football team as it dominated Saint Vincent College on Saturday afternoon inside Don Shula Stadium.

The Blue Streaks had a slow start offensively resulting in consecutive punts to start the game. John Carroll lit up the scoreboard as the next four drives lead to touchdowns.

Senior quarterback Wes Keller jump started the offensive leading John Carroll on a 5-play, 42-yard drive ending with a 19-yard touchdown strike to Aramis Greenwood.

John Carroll's special teams set up the defense for a late third quarter safety. A Kyle Rodriguez punt was downed on Saint Vincent's 2-yard line. A quarterback hurry from Joe Nawalaniec resulted in a intentional grounding call on Saint Vincent quarterback Matt Deakins. Because the intentional grounding occurred in the end zone, a safety was awarded.

The Blue Streaks final touchdown was a 2-yard strike from Jake Schaefer to Rich Miller.

No. 11 St. Thomas narrowly escapes UW-Eau Claire

St. Thomas broke to a 22-3 second-half lead but needed a late interception in the red zone to seal a 22-17 victory over visiting UW-Eau Claire in Saturday's season-opening football game at O'Shaughnessy Stadium.

The Tommies, who improved to 7-0 in season-opening games under Coach Glenn Caruso, used Sean Hamlin's seventh career interception with the game on the line in the final 45 seconds, to deny Eau Claire's late rally.

After the Blugolds (0-1) pulled within five points on a fourth-down, three-yard touchdown pass with 2:11 to play, they pulled off a successful on-side kick and recovered at their own 41-yard line.

Senior QB MarK Munger, who completed 33 passes on the day, then converted two fourth-down passes to Chris Cummings to keep the drive and the upset hope alive.

No. 12 Hobart holds off Dickinson

GENEVA, N.Y. -- The 12th-ranked Hobart College football team cruised to a 33-21 victory against Dickinson College on Boswell Field at the Caird Center for Sports and Recreation. The Statesmen offense put up 480 yards on the day, including 263 yards on the ground in their first game without All-American running back Steven Webb.

Junior running back Conner Hartigan led the rushing attack with a game-high 103 yards, including a 27-yard TD run that put Hobart up 33-7 with 10:41 remaining in the fourth quarter. Senior fullback Dominique Ellis added 77 yards on just seven carries.

The Statesmen passing game added 217 yards all on the arm of senior quarterback Patrick Conlan. He completed 14 passes with one touchdown and one interception.

No. 14 Johns Hopkins powers past Randolph-Macon

BALTIMORE, MD -- Johns Hopkins football coach Jim Margraff pointed out before Saturday's season-opener against Randolph-Macon that for the Blue Jays to be successful they would need to run the ball effectively and not turn the ball over. Point taken.

Johns Hopkins rushed for 261 yards and five touchdowns and the Blue Jay defense forced three Yellow Jacket turnovers while the Hopkins offense kept a clean sheet en route to a 42-3 victory at Homewood Field Saturday afternoon. No. 14 Johns Hopkins won for the 16th consecutive time in the month of September and improved to 34-1 in its last 35 regular season games.

The 39-point margin of victory is Johns Hopkins' largest in a season-opener since 1959, when Hopkins topped Franklin & Marshall, 42-0.

No. 15 Rowan falls to Widener

GLASSBORO, NJ --The Rowan University football team lost to Widener University, 19-7 on Friday night. It was the season opener for both teams.

For the Pride, quarterback Seth Klein was 15 for 26 for 220 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Terrant Morrison had 17 carries for 56 yards. Wide receiver Anthony Davis had seven grabs for 136 yards with Philip Ragona also snagging three receptions for 55 yards and a TD.

Defensive backs Jamal Goodman and Sean Titus each had two interceptions. Titus returned one 39 yards for a touchdown. Defensive lineman Stacey Sunnerville and defensive back Ameer Sorrel each had one pick apiece. Sunnerville led the team with 11 tackles, while Sorrell also recovered a fumble.

No. 16 Wabash dominates Hampden-Sydney

Wabash's defense dominated the historic matchup of two all-male D3 schools in the Gentlemen's Classic. The Little Giants contained the touted Hampden-Sydney offense to a 34-21 season-opening win.

Hampden-Sydney (0-1) came out firing as it did in a second round NCAA playoff loss at Linfield last fall. All-American quarterback Nash Nance found his All-American receiver Holton Walker for a 60-yard scoring strike. The Little Giants (1-0) countered with an 11-play, 69-yard drive on the next possession. Tyler Holmes , back after missing eight games last year with an injury, capped the drive with a four-yard run to tie the game at seven.

Wabash quarterback MIchael Putko finished with an efficient 134 yards on 15-of-22 passing and the touchdown. Hodges was Wabash's leading receiver with nine catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.

No. 17 Wartburg cruises in 40-3 victory against Ausburg

MINNEAPOLIS -- The No. 17 Wartburg football team opened the season with a 40-3 win against Augsburg College Saturday night. This marked the most points the Knights have scored against the Auggies in the series' history as the previous mark was, 38 points in the 38-14 win in 2006.

The Knights jumped to a 20-0 lead after the first quarter. Junior Brandon Domeyer scored his first touchdown of not only the season from three-yards out on the team's first drive, just under five minutes into the game. Senior Andrew Ganshirt recovered the fumble on the Auggies' ensuing drive and the Orange and Black capitalized on that turnover with a 12-play, 48-yard drive capped by another three-yard scoring run from Domeyer to make the score 14-0.

The Knights later scored on their first drive of the second quarter as junior Logan Schrader threw a 30-yard pass to senior Will Ebert to bring the score to 27-0.

Schrader finished the game completing 14 passes for 215 passing yards and two touchdown passes.

Taylor Jacobsmeier was the leading receiver with 57 yards on two catches.

No. 20 Heidelberg routs Alma

TIFFIN, Ohio -- With construction of the new Hoernemann Stadium still in progress, the No. 20 Heidelberg University football team looked like a finished product in a 72-7 season-opening win against Alma College. The Student Princes amassed a school-record 696 yards of total offense in the rout.

Tailback Cartel Brooks, who ended the 2013 season with an NCAA All-Divisions record 465-yard rushing performance against Baldwin Wallace, racked up 192 yards and three touchdowns on nine carries.

On the other side of the ledger, the Heidelberg defense held the Scots to 195 yards of total offense. The secondary, which lost three starters to graduation, came up with four interceptions -- including two by senior Tim Littles.

No. 23 Ithaca evades Union comeback in season opener

ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Ithaca College football team began its season with a 21-16 win over Union on Saturday afternoon at Butterfield Stadium. The Bombers withstood a Union comeback attempt in the game's final minutes and Ithaca safety Noah Poskanzer deflected a Union pass in the endzone on fourth down to preserve the victory.

Ithaca continued its incredible run of success in season-opening games. This win gave Ithaca its 34th season-opening victory in the last 38 years.

Quarterback Tom Dempsey threw three touchdown passes to three different receivers and the running-back tandem, Tristan Brown and Shawal Abdur-Rahman combined for 109 yards on 27 carries.

No. 24 Wheaton(Ill.) escapes Coe College in 36-28 victory

The Wheaton football team (1-0) opened the 2014 season on Saturday afternoon with a 36-28 victory against Coe College (0-1). The victory marked the 20th consecutive non-conference win at home for the Thunder in the regular season and Wheaton's 13th consective victory in season-opening games.

The Thunder offense racked up 483 total yards on the day, with 338 passing yards and 145 rushing yards. The Thunder offense ran 83 plays, averaging 5.8 yards per play for the afternoon. Coe recorded 410 yards of total offense with 317 yards through the air and 93 yards on the ground.

No. 25 Franklin loses shootout to Illinios Wesleyan

Bloomington, Ill. -- The Franklin College football team recorded 438 offensive yards in a 42-35 season-opening loss at Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday – a match up that featured two 2013 NCAA Division III playoff teams.

Illinois Wesleyan scored 28 points in the second quarter to hold a 35-21 halftime advantage.

Franklin senior Grant Welp threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns in his first collegiate start. He hooked also up with senior Jonny Hession for a six-yard touchdown pass on the game's opening possession.